George Varga

Writer

Veteran U-T pop music critic George Varga began drumming in rock bands at 12 and writing professionally about music at 15. A Louisiana native who grew up mostly in Germany, Varga has earned three Pulitzer Prize nominations for his writing at the U-T and is a voting member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In addition to providing live coverage of the Grammy Awards and festivals from Coachella to the 1994 edition of Woodstock, he has interviewed everyone from Ray Charles, Miles Davis and Britney Spears to Willie Nelson, Kanye West and Bruno Mars. A triple first-prize winner at the 2014 Society of Professional Journalists awards, Varga is also a contributing writer for Jazz Times magazine and has written for Billboard, Spin and other publications. After attending San Diego City College and San Diego State University, he created and taught the 2002 UC San Diego Extension course, “Jazz in a Post-Ken-Burns World." Varga lives with his wife in North Park.

Recent Articles

Sugarland is reactivating for the first time in more than five years for its 2018 “Still the Same” tour. The Grammy Award-winning country-music duo of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush will be on the road from early May through early September. The five California dates on their tour include a...

San Diego jazz-funk saxophonist, flutist and singer Karl Denson spent last September and October on tour with the Rollling Stones in Europe. He’s also featured on their 2017 live album, “From The Vault – Sticky Fingers: Live At The Fonda Theatre 2015.” On Friday, Denson will kick off his first...

An ear-bending, eye-popping, borders-leaping music marathon, “It’s About Time” will include a series of groundbreaking firsts for San Diego and Tijuana. To be held Thursday through Feb. 11, the percussion-driven music and cultural festival will feature 27 events at a dozen locations. The styles...

The Eagles have extended their 2018 stadium concert tour with two new shows, both in California. The fabled band will perform Sept. 20 at San Francisco’s AT&T Park and Sept. 22 at San Diego’s Petco Park. Ticket information appears below. According to a press release from Live Nation, the tour’s...

Kristin Lancino, president and artistic director of the La Jolla Music Society, is resigning, the society’s board chair said Monday. Lancino’s abrupt departure, which will be formally announced Tuesday, comes barely two years after she came on board. It will become effective Friday and was by mutual...

Willie Nelson’s Saturday night concert at Harrah’s Resort SoCal ended almost before it began. The 84-year-old music legend had barely started his opening song, “Whiskey River,” before abruptly ending his performance, according to several people in attendance who contacted the Union-Tribune. He...

Timber! Justin Timberlake will hit the road in March for his North American “The Man of the Woods” concert tour to promote his new album of the same name. The tour, announced Monday morning, opens March 13 at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre. It concludes May 30 at the FedEx Forum in Timberlake’s hometown...

Vocal stars Rod Stewart and Cyndi Lauper are reuniting for their second consecutive U.S. summer concert tour. The two veteran singers will team for nearly two dozen concerts on the 2018 tour, which opens June 25 at the Hollywood Bowl and concludes Sept. 1 at Seattle’s White River Amphitheatre....